I Accepted a Ramadan Dinner Invitation
It was Ramadan and the local Islamic center was having a dinner gathering. My new friend, Farah, invited me to join her at the mosque and I gladly accepted. I had never been inside a mosque and was curious. I had taken world religions courses in college, so I was vaguely familiar with Islam, but had never experienced its practices.
I walked into the Islamic center not knowing what to expect. I was greeted at the kitchen entryway with a nod of the head by an older gentleman as I made my way to the main hall. I sat down at a table and began to enjoy the simplistic beauty in front of me.
There was an array of rugs in a corner of the large room with a pulpit called a minbar sitting directly at the forefront, as if ready to hold its speaker. The minbar was ornate and beautiful. Some of the rugs were elaborate and some were purely simple, but it was obvious they were well cared for. This was all facing Mecca, the holy city of Islam. The windows were spade shaped in a way that is indicative of this center being a genuine place of worship. The ceilings held sound boards to mute the echoes of the room. Against the wall were shelving units to hold shoes, as it is most respectful to remove your shoes upon entry to keep the mosque clean.
Praying to End the Fast
I watched as men busied themselves with dinner preparations. Children ran and rolled on rugs. Friends greeted friends. It was all…very normal.
More people began to arrive and suddenly, there were people everywhere. They began filling the tables and eventually several ladies joined me. I met so many kind and wonderful women. Their welcoming nature made any discomfort I had completely disappear.
Prayer began to end the fast and I sat, as an observer, while the men stayed in the main hall and women joined together in a separate hall to worship. The prayer was in Arabic, so I had a difficult time understanding anything during prayer other than, “Allah akbar”, which means “God is most great”.
When prayer was done, everyone descended to the tables of food. I thought it was curious that women and men were gathering their food from separate tables and made a mental note of this. I eventually made my way to the buffet and I watched as women were piling food on their plates. It took me a moment to remember that they had been fasting all day and were likely ravenous. The buffet offered spicy rice, curried chicken, steamed corn and cabbage, a spicy roast, mac and cheese, and tiny cornbread cakes. It was all very delicious.
Socializing at the Mosque
As I ate this lovely dinner, I chatted with ladies at the table and they graciously began sharing bits of Islam with me. One of the ladies pointed out the diversity that exists in the room and for the first time that evening, I saw the demographics of the room. They were hispanic, black, white, middle eastern, african, south american, indian, guyanese, and nearly everyone was younger than 50. I sat in awe as I viewed this amazing global community of people packed into one room. I was mesmerized. The gift of that sight will forever be imprinted in my mind.
We talked about the reverence of the mother in Islam and that she is valuable. We talked about the reasons men and women eat and pray separately. We talked about the fact that Islam is a peaceful religion and how its image is tainted by the actions of a small group of people who practice Islam in a way that is not true.
The men started cleaning up and Farah took me around to introduce me to different women in the community. One of the ladies’ daughters gathered literature for me to take home and read to help in my effort to better understand Islam. Farah and I chatted a little while longer, then we hugged and said goodbye.
I drove home, thinking about my lovely evening. The kindness, the courtesy, the generosity, the diversity, the welcoming nature of so many people. I look forward to visiting such wonderful people again!
Peace and love,
Jessica <3
